Work on Ottawa’s Confederation Line is essentially wrapped up, according to a memo from the city’s transit boss this past weekend, with the city and builders Rideau Transit Group now holding their collective breaths that the final testing hurdle goes off without a major hitch.
OC Transpo head John Manconi’s memo to councillors confirmed that both city staff and an independent certifier have given RTG the thumb’s up on “substantial completion” – the point at which the Confederation Line light-rail transit system’s tracks, trains, stations and all other significant elements are all ready for handover. RTG had applied to the city for completion back in May but was sent back to the drawing board; this time, the consortium of builders got the all-clear.
Now, the east-west LRT system will undergo 12 days of consecutive testing, starting this week. The trial run period will confirm the LRT is ready for public use, testing the safety of the system, vehicle performance and other operations.
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If there are no significant issues during this testing period, RTG can then submit for revenue service availability – the point at which the builders can hand over the keys to the city. RTG had said previously it expected to submit for RSA by Aug. 16.
The city expects to have the Confederation Line up and running four weeks after the RSA date.
